Day 10 - 29 January

Grand Jury tie: Girlfight, You Can Count On Me

Geoffrey Gilmore and Nicole Guillemet, the co-directors of the Sundance Film Festival declared 2000 as the year of women and the year of the tie.

The Grand Jury Prize in the Documentary Competition was given to Long Night's Journey Into Day, directed by Frances Reid and Deborah Hoffman and produced by Frances Reid. The Dramatic Grand Jury Prize was split between Girlfight, directed by Karyn Kusama and produced by Sarah Green and John Sayles and You Can Count On Me, directed by Kenneth Lonergan and produced by John Hart, Jeff Sharp, Larry Meistrich & Barbara DeFina.

The Audience Award for a documentary film was presented to Dark Days (Documentary Competition), directed and produced by Marc Singer and to Two Family House (American Spectrum), directed by Raymond DeFelitta and produced by Anne Harrison & Alan Klingsenstein. The Audience Awards, sponsored by Entertainment Weekly, are given to a documentary and a dramatic film in Competition or American Spectrum as voted by festival audiences.

The World Cinema Audience Award was given to Saving Grace, directed by Nigel Cole and produced by Mark Crowdy. The World Cinema Audience Award was given to a film in the World Cinema category as voted by festival audiences.

The Directing award recognizes excellence in directing for dramatic and documentary features. The Documentary Directing Award went to Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman, directors of Paragraph 175. Kevin Smith presented the Dramtic Directing Award to to Karyn Kusama, director of Girlfight. Kusama thanked John Sayles who she referred to as "...her mentor and a great teacher."

The Excellence in Cinematography Award honors exceptional photography in both a dramatic documentary film at the festival. Marc Singer, director of photography on Dark Days tied with Andrew Young, director of photography on Americanos: Latino Life In The United States from the Documentary Competition and Tom Krueger, director of photography on Committed from the Dramatic Competition received the 2000 Cinematography Award.

The Freedom of Expression Award is given to a documentary film that informs and educates the public on issues of social or political concern. The Documentary Jury awarded the Freedom of Expression Award to Dark Days, directed and produced by Marc Singer.

The dramatic jury presents the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award to outstanding achievement in writing. Indie producer Laurence Bender (Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction) presented the 2000 prize to Kenneth Lonergan, screenwriter of You Can Count On Me.

The Documentary Jury awarded a Special Jury Prize for Artistic Achievement to The Ballad Of Ramblin' Jack, directed by Aiyana Elliott and Special Jury Prize for Writing to Daniel McCabe, Paul Stekler, & Steve Fayer, screenwriters of George Wallce Settin' The Woods On Fire.

The Dramatic Jury bestowed a Special Jury Prize for Outstanding Ensemble Performance to the cast of Song Catcher which include Janet McTeer who just won a Golden Globe for Tumbleweed. The Dramatic Jury also awarded a Special Jury Prize for Outstanding Performance to Donal Logue in The Tao Of Steve.

The Latin American Jury awarded the Jury Prize in Latin American Cinema to both Herod's Law, directed and produced by Luis Estrada and No One Writes To The Colonel, directed by Arturo Ripstein and produced by Jorge Sanchez.

The Shorts Jury consisting of Sarah Polley, presented the Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking to Five Feet High And Rising directed by Peter Sollett. The Shorts Jury awarded Honorable Mentions in Short Filmmaking to 9 filmmakers.

Dark Days, Mark Singer's documentary on homeless people living in the tunnels of New York City was an overwhelming winner at Sundance.

FilmFestivals.com reporter
Rita Johnson

Sundance